Reviews by scottfrie:

A: Pours a light lemon-tangerine hue with a large, oily, bright white head that faded into a thin scum that left sticky lace down the glass.S: Ok. So I've seen threads where people claim that some hops and therefore IPA's smell a bit like marijuana, but I've never encounter such a beer. THIS beer to me smell like weed. It's so very perfume-y and floral in addition to notes of citrusy lemon, tangerine, grapefruit and...cantaloupe. But there is definitely a grassy herbal quality to this beer, not unlike its cousin of the same plant family. T: Big herbal and floral hop punch with a touch of herbal and citrus notes. Follows the nose quite well. There is a hint of biscuity malt shining through the perfume near the end of each swallow, but the hops pretty much overpower everything. Tangerine, cantaloupe and grapefruit dominate. Finish also has some alcohol warmth to it.M: Medium-full body with a tingly feel from all the perfume hops. Very tingly. Soft carb.D: I wasn't expecting as much from what others were saying, but I was pretty impressed by this beer. Very sweet and juicy. I guess some could find it too sweet though. Still, I liked this one better than last years. Great EIPA.

More User Reviews:

I think this years Anniversary offering is a great idea,going to the style roots but with enough American "pizazz" to make it interesting to the American hophead palate.Poured into a imperial nonic a dulled lighter golden with a light infusion of orange,a very well defined white head atop,the proper glassware worked wonders.Big leafy hops in the nose,as green as all get out,light citrus but not the grapefruit rind,resiny feel of an American IPA wich is right for the style,a noticeable sweet dough/biscuit malt base holds true as well.Hop flavors are slightly medicinal and leafy from the start,a light mineral note as well,light caramel malt again holds true to the finish,alcohol only becomes noticeable after it warms a bit.A "not in your face brash" offering for this years anniversary beer from Stone.

Appearance - This one is a beautiful orange in color with a light and fluffy head that screams of delicacy.

Smell - The hops are light and very fresh, sharp but easy on the nose. This is a complex and refined hop aroma that is hard to describe. It is very non-traditional and as I understand it made with British hops. There's a kind of citrus, fruit-like character to the nose but not the big orange or grapefruit that you find in a lot of American IPAs. It's not a hop monster like Ruination but more like if you take the lightness of a good British hopping then "Stone it up" about 100 degrees then there you have it.

The balance of the nose is near perfection and would be even more interesting with a year in the cellar to grow the malt a bit. Right now though it is still properly balanced if a bit on the hop side. There's a classic ESB-type of yeasty note to the malt base and a bit of sweetness that is again very pure and natural.

Taste - This travels true from nose to tongue. The hops seem more floral here and mate squarely with the sharpened ESB yeasty notes. The sugars up front are incredible and really not like anything I've had before. It is a very pleasant sugary kind of sweet flavor like sugar water.

Mouthfeel - This is where the beer leaves its mark. It's borderline medium-bodied and not at all heavy like an American DIPA but OMG is this thing bitter. This is more bitter than any other Stone beer that I've had and is so dry it will make you scream uncle a few times. This is self-generating revenue here as every sips just makes you want to take another one.

Drinkability - I am a big fan of creativity and this is just amazing. It is so different yet so good and really was a very daring project that IMO could not have been done any better and certainly not by any other brewery. In almost every other case when an American brewer of "big beers" takes on a non-traditional style and beefs it up it is a holy mess, but here the folks at Stone showed why they are the top brewery on the West Coast.

A: The pour is a hazy golden straw color with a dense white head on it.

S: The nose is quite inviting (at first). Initially there is plenty of fruitiness to it--pineapple and grapefruit, especially. Then some lightly floral and spicy hops come into the picture along with a very distinct grassiness.

T: Initially I really liked the flavor of this as it matched the nose nearly perfectly. As the beer warmed up a little bit, the hop flavor became grassy and very spicy. A good bitterness to it without much in the way of malt (typical Stone beer).

M: The body is perhaps on the light end of medium with a moderate and tingling carbonation.

D: I usually like Stone's anniversary beers, but this one just didn't quite do it for me. I guess if I'm going to have any more of these, I'll have to drink them quickly.

Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial Ipa... 8.9% alcohol content. Brewed in the British way and with all British ingredents. Poured into a snifter.

A- Pours a golden orange fluid with mildly active white head that settles to a thick frothy top and heavy patchy lacing. Looking into the light the colors are shown as a medium orange center with light firey lemon juice colors on the the outer glass areas.

S- Upfront is a overly ripe oranges and tangerines. Soft overtones of alcohol esters open the nose to a deep malty essence of woody carmel and figs. Has an English IPA smell but with large American dryhopping.

T-M- Taste is biting with bitter citrus and grassy hop flavors. Bitter hits of grapefruit and tangy fresh cut grass. Backbone is malty and full of charactor. Sweet hints of carmel malts and musty barley are excellent. Thick brown sugar flavors linger with the beer warming. Mouthfeel is smooth and dry. Lightly astringent on the tongue stinging with bitterness.

D- A hell of a drinkable 8.9% alcohol beer that packs a beautiful flavor and is of the upmost drinkablity.

The beer pours a hazy golden yellow with a very lacy white head. A decent layer of lasting bubbles adorn the top of the beer.

The nose is strong but not too over the top like I expected from a Stone anniversary beer. Strong herbal and grass hop aroma with just a a tinge of lemon at the the end. A semi-sweet malt backbone backs up the barrage of hops.

I'm enjoying the bitterness in this beer. With most Stone beers the bitterness is overly harsh but this is much smoother. The hop flavor is very earthy with herbal flavors. A sweet finish for an IPA with some alcohol flavor at the end. A really unique hop profile that I kind of enjoyed and a nice diversion from my usual preference of citrus hop bombs.

The mouthfeel and carbonation is near perfect for my tastes. This beer is dangerously drinkable and I finished my snifter without much effort, palate fatigue. I applaud Stone for taking a chance with this beer. While not my favorite DIPA, I can't see all the hate this beer is getting.

Another winner from Stone. Even after a year of aging, this IPA This beer poured a nice lightly cloudy golden color with a nice white head. Smell was quite fruity with lots of nice grapefruit and strawberry notes. Flavor was nice with peppery hops right off the bat followed by a nice semi sweet malt backbone and another dose of dry bitterness on the back end that begged you to take another sip. Match this with a nice light mouthfeel and this is a very enjoyable beer. Recommended.

Happy to be able to purchase this in Illinois this year!! Always excited to try a new Stone anniversary brew...however nothing has quite compared to the greatness that was the 10th anniversary. Pours into my glass a clear sunshine yellow with some hazy particulate and a quarter inch of crisp white foam that leaves some trails of lacing. Aromas are thick with a crisp, biscuity malt and a heaping helping of grassy, herbal hops. Somewhat spicy and earthy as well.

First sip brings smooth crisp malts with some biscuit character and a bit of sweetness. Grassy, spicy herbal hops kick in along with a nice burst of bitterness as the brew flows down. Somewhat earthy with a good balance overall. Pretty tasty for an English IPA!

Mouthfeel is smooth and fairly easy drinking for an IPA almost hitting 9% abv. Good carbonation and well balanced overall. I've never been a huge fan of English IPA's but I thought this was pretty tasty and a change of pace. Might have to grab another bomber soon.

I really, really liked this beer.In a tulip glass the beer was a gold color with a copious white head that was very sticky.Peppery aroma, floral, sweet malt.The taste was peppery up front, followed by some very sweet malt, with a late hops finish.Incredibly smooth and balanced, great to drink.Hope it likes my cellar.

I was pretty stoked to try this beer but unfortunately, Stone has swung on and missed big. The beer goes in a three step process: Aggressive hop bitter (surprise surprise)...2...1.. hmmm that tastes interesting and not too bad...2...1... ugh gross, is that a sweaty sock?

so for those of you at home, it will taste "ok", then "not bad", then "ugh, gross."

Die hard stone fans and people who don't get to drink great IPAs whenever they want will say its good. But it isnt. Way better stuff down here in so-cal to be wasting a penny on this beer.

A - Pours a very hazy straw color wit one finger of rather persistent off-white head.

S - Pungent hops. Has a rather earthy aroma for such a hop-forward beer.

T - I had this fresh but didn't review. The hops have definitely faded, but are still in abundance. Has an almost salty taste, like licking the side of an old sea-faring vessel (which I mean in mostly a good way). This definitely is't for everyone, but I enjoyed it. A decent amount of malt backbone to balance.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 1 pint 6oz bottle into a tulip glass. The bottle info includes its abv (8.9%), born on date (June2010), ingredients used and a good disruption of the beer as the motivation behind it.

Appearance: The body has a pale orange-ish tan color. It is quite hazy but carbonation is still visible. From the pour it makes a tall bright white head of tightly packed creamy foam. This slowly fades to thin foam covering that hangs on well and makes nice lace rings on the glass.

Smell: The aroma is full of bright leafy, floral/botanical (almost minty) and citrusy hops with a hint of pine as well. Under that are notes of clean pale malt and bready yeast.

Taste/Palate: The flavor is in your face hops right from the start. It is complex and brings all hop aroma notes to the flavor. The malt is clean, biscuity and adds a bit of sweetness at the start which makes the hop notes pop. There is a lightly noticeable sweet alcohol as well that adds some warmth. In the finish dry bready yeast and strong hop bitterness come out and dry things right up. This bitterness lingers on the tongue for some time in a good way. The body is just on the full side with nice lively carbonation.

Notes: What more can I say I absolutely love this beer and this brewery!!!

While the head looks awesome and the retention is out of this world the cloudiness only goes away as things warm up. Pungent hoppy nose with orchard, citric and evergreen aromas. Very smooth, nice creamy back. West coast hopping style with English hops screams with pungent bitterness and a long linger of earthy rind and woody flavors. Maltiness stands there and say to the hops "What the he'll?!" Bit of grain and yeast but clearly the hops own this brewski. 8.9% ... Yeah it is there, clean and warming with some vague fruit.

Ok, so Stone goes the English way ... All the way with unforgiving handfuls of hops. I dig it ...

Taste has a lot of dry and bitter lemon zest hoppiness, with an edge of grapefruit. Honeyed biscuity malt sweetness balances well. There is a herbal mintiness throughout, the only English trait(if that can be called such) I can discern. Finishes clean and dry with a lasting lemonrind aftertaste.

Satisfying and highly drinkable. Another solid product from the folks at Stone. Happy Anniversary!

Bomber from Bierkraft in Bklyn, NY, "June 2010" etched on the side of the bottle. Pours moderately clouded, dull and soft tangerine. The off white head is large and lasting, slowly going to moon craters, leaves thicker blobs of stuck on lacing and then nice looking low sheeting sticking around. Moderate hop nose, leafy and floral at least to my nose. So smooth, so tasty, so much depth of the flavors, what else is to be expected from the quality brewers of Stone?? Moderate (relatively speaking) hop presence, mostly leafy and with tea like qualities, malty base providing the under support. Enjoyable DEIPA.

The beer pours a yellow color with a white head. The aroma is an unattractive mix of grassy hops and sweat. The flavor is orange citrus hops, grassy hops and bready malt. I also get some resiny hops and medium to high bitterness. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Not near the beer I expected this to be. Not terrible, but still disappointing.

Pours a very light straw hazy yellow with a small white thin sticky head. Nose is Not too hoppy, it's more earthy and malty with light vegetial notes.

Taste comes through though, it's really kinda cool. It's very light and not over the top, but it's pretty sweet and malty with some very strong citrus flavors with a very nice hop bite on the finish. I had no idea British ingredients could have this much pop! I forget this is an English IPA, so it's supposed to be a bit different. The mouthfeel is light and sharp, really drinkable.

Pouring a cloudy straw-yellow haze with floating green hop chunks, Emperial IPA opens with a fruity, hoppy, effervescent nose bubbling over with not the expected pungent grapefruits and pines one would expect from a beer with, reportedly, 100 IBUs, but a floral, almost bubble-gum like sugary rosewater flair, as if rose petals and rose hips had been infused into a light grapefruit spritzer, then sprinkled with Candi sugar. Touches of toast crust provide grounding, but the beer is largely sugary in aroma, and so saturated with sugars that the bottle's mouth is sticky. The effect is enticing, but strangely so, the aromas not quite resembling those of a beer, but still delicious.

On the tongue, the beer opens with a brown sugar rush, then moves quickly into a bitter, hop-based middle, the hops providing pine and grapefruit rind, as well as lemon, dandelion stem, and eucalyptus notes. Hints of anise and pepper linger in the background, and the soft palate burns gently under the 100 IBUs. A good toast and biscuit base helps offset the sugary bitters, and brown sugars bring sweeter notes, joined by touches of orange liqueur and apricot. The aftertaste is largely bitter grapefruit and pine hops, with hints of toasted wheat stems, and lingers for some time. Mouthfeel is medium, and carbonation is medium-high, adding to the burning sensations on the tongue.

Overall, this is excellent fare, though I suspect many will find the hops overpowering, especially in their tendency to reproduce stem and twig flavors, as if one was eating the plant as well as drinking the plant infusion. Still, the beer is nicely balanced, the hops providing a lovely palate of mingling and delicious flavors, and the malts bringing good fruit esters and biscuit flavors. Well worth trying, and a beer worthy of being bottled again.

definatly a different aroma than i was expecting. quite perfumey, spicy hops. lemony citrus as well. pepper. a little bit of yeastiness.

i enjoy the taste more than the aroma, not to say the aroma is terrible or anything, it just doesnt live up to the taste. you get the perfumy, spicy, and lemon citrus hops in the taste as well. also some american like hops detectable, almost tropical fruity like. some pepper is noticable. a little bit of pale pilsner malt. maybe a little of that rare british yeast strain apparent,(as mentioned in the description on the bottle) but its slight. and holy bitterness, very bitter exspecially off the first few sips. finishs with a whole lot of lingering bitterness and citrus hop flavors.

nice mouthfeel, maybe a touch heavy for the style, but nice. resinous hops on the palate. good carbonation.

drinks good for the fairly high abv. one bomber would prolly be enough in a session, but i could definatly revisit this again. a good beer, but doesnt really live up to some of the other anniversary ales by stone. definatly worth a try though. what i like most about this ipa is that it is still really hoppy, but so much different than the majority of ipas, even english ipas out there.

this went very nicely with some jalapeno cheddar cheese, or any spicy cheese for that matter.